Category: Holiday Crafts and Recipes

With Rosh Hashanah rapidly approaching, many of us find ourselves frantically cooking and getting ready for the holiday. Let’s take a few minutes to enjoy the preparations. Here are two cute craft projects and a challah recipe to help get yourself and the kids in the holiday mood.

Dip your (or your child’s) thumb into some yellow paint, and put a couple of thumbprints on the honeycomb.

Draw lines, an eye, a mouth and wings on the thumbprints.

Write “Shana Tova” or any other holiday message.

Origami Shofar (Great as a table decoration)

Start with a square

Fold in half, then open

Fold one side in to the center line, and then the other side

Fold one side in to the center line again, followed by the other side

Fold the bottom point up

Fold the top point down about half an inch

Make three pleated folds

Fold paper in half, with the open parts on the inside

Pull the bottom of each pleat to form a curved shofar

Round Cinnamon Bread Machine Challah

Ingredients:

1½ Cups Water

⅓ Cup Oil

2 Eggs

1 ½ teaspoons salt

5 Cups Flour

¾ Cup Sugar

1 packet (or 1 Tablespoon) yeast

Cinnamon-Sugar

Mix all ingredients according to directions of bread machine. Add additional flour as needed to form a ball. Let rise in bread machine. Punch down dough, take challah (click here for an explanation), and split the dough into two equal halves. Roll each half into a rope, tapering one end. Sprinkle the dough with cinnamon-sugar, rolling it around to coat as completely as possible. Starting with the tapered end, wind the rope loosely into a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan, starting at the center and working outwards. Let rise in a warm spot for an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water, and brush over the risen loaf. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon-sugar, if desired. Place the cake pan atop a baking sheet; this will insulate the bread’s bottom crust, and keep it from browning too much. Put the challah in the center of the oven, and bake it for 30 to 35 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until challah is browned and sounds hollow when tapped.